JANUARY NEWSLETTER

January 6, 2017

Our Website: www.oncjc.org

Hello Everyone! Please click on these links to view the flyers

2017 ABA Caribbean Cruise 2017 ABA Hawaii Cruise

President’s Letter to Membership

Fellow Dancers,

Welcome to 2017; the year we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of ONCJC! I have come to find that a new year has

different meanings to everyone.

To some it is:

Filled with resolutions (to lose weight, to eat healthier, exercise more)

A time to put last year behind

A time to be hopeful

A time to begin new adventures

A time to cherish each day

A time to make new friends

A time to reacquaint with people from our past

A time of wishes and dreams

A time to begin anew

A time to laugh more

Whatever the New Year means to you, I hope you are planning on sharing it with us. The main theme of this year is

the club and its history. Each month the newsletter will feature an article on the history of ONCJC. Let us take you

through the struggles of organizing a club, to the persistence of those Founding Fathers and early members, and to our

growth throughout the years. Be sure to follow along as you may encounter a memory you have forgotten. Or, as a

newer member, be surprised at what has occurred over the past 20 years.

Every member has offered and continues to offer so much to make ONCJC the great dance club that we are known to

be. So let us begin 2017 with a thankful heart and look forward to all this year may bring.

As always, happy to be your President,

Cheryl Minnich

A Club Is Born Memories – How It All Began

It seems like only yesterday, and I remember it as if it were. Lou and I had returned from a cruise we took for our 25th

anniversary. Lou especially enjoyed the dance lessons. Once home he wanted to find somewhere we could continue

dancing and perfecting our “not so perfect” skills.

He spotted an ad in the “Etcetera” section of the Beacon Journal for dance lessons at a little bar in the valley named

Sloopy’s. That is all the information he needed! We were there that night ready to go!

The instructor was Jackie Price with her husband, Joe Price, spinning his tunes. She taught East Coast, primarily, but

as time went on we learned to Shag to a video. GREAT FUN! Also there, were Don and Patti Ondecker, Don and

Karen Gunter and sometimes Karen’s sister and her husband joined them. Diana and Jack Williamson and Becky and

Ron Miller also joined in on the fun on Sunday evenings. After Jackie’s lesson was open dancing. We quickly got to

know the Ondeckers, Prices, and Gunters.

One evening this “fancy dancer” and his wife, Betsey (Burt &Betsey Sullivan) appeared. Well, we had to get to know

this couple. They had a different air about them and style of dancing. It didn’t take long at all to get acquainted.

A few weeks later someone came into Sloopy’s with a flyer to the “Move Across the River” dance event in Cincinnati

in November. It sounded exciting and we decided we all just HAD TO GO! It was exciting with nearly 2000 people

in attendance! We were in awe! Standing on the steps leading to the ballroom is where the club was born. The 10 of

us (Ondeckers, Guinters, Sullivans, Prices, and us) said, “We can do this! Lets do it! What will we call ourselves?” I

piped up with “Ohio North Coast Jitterbug Connection” and the rest is history so to speak. The name has evolved into

Ohio’s North Coast Jitterbug Connection or ONCJC as we lovingly refer to it.

I drew up my rendition of a logo and gave it to Karen Gunter as she worked at an advertising agency. She created

several renditions from which to choose.

Our first official meeting was held at Betsey and Burt Sullivan’s home in Twinsburg ,Ohio. There we selected our first

officers to serve for the first organizational year. It was all very scientific. They were selected as follows:

President: Burt Sullivan (because he was the host of the evening)

Vice-President: Joe Price (because he had held that office in other organizations)

Treasurer: Don Ondecker (because he owned several rental properties and could keep books)

Secretary: Kap Chermak (because I was a secretary by profession and had held that office in several

organizations)

Present at the first meeting was: Betsy and Burt Sullivan, Jackie and Joe Price, Patty and Don Ondecker, Kap

and Lou Chermak, Karen and Don Guinter, Joann Presby, Marilyn Podracky

It was decided the name would be “Ohio’s Northcoast Jitterbug Connection.” We would be a non-profit, strictly

volunteer, and just for fun organization. Burt had other friends he wanted to bring on board, so we set another meeting

to take place at the Winking Lizard in Peninsula in December 1997. This became the official date of the birth of

ONCJC.

We all paid our dues of $36.00 to get started with flyers and advertising. Sam Mamich was

taking care of the legalities since he was an attorney. We all were on a hunt for our first

location. Those in attendance became the official “Charter Members” that appear in the By-

Laws. Oh, what a ride these 20 years have been! It is my pleasure to bring you along on the

ride!

Good Lord, I love this Club and everything about it! And happy to still be dancing after all

these years!

Love,

Kap Chermak

Splinters From The Board

December 14, 2016 Executive Meeting

1. New Trustees Maria Mayo and Ruth McGraw welcomed to Board. Thank you to Jack Lavis

and Eddie Cetrone for past service to Board.

2. Reviewed age policy of members and guests. Must be 21 due to liability insurance and alcohol

consumption.

3. Christmas dance post-event reviewed.

4. ABA delegate hotel cost for national meeting in Nashville in January covered by club.

5. General meetings changed to January, April, July and October to allow for complete quarter

reporting.

6. 20th Anniversary club shirts discussion.

The Old Fashioned Christmas Dance Revisited

The highlight of our year was a roaring success! This wonderful

dress-up event was skillfully organized and expertly produced by

Linda Thomas and her all-volunteer crew-Jim and Mary Peticca,

Nancy Wilson, John and Penny Inks, and Bruce and Cheryl

Minnich. The table centerpieces, fresh greens with a candle in a

mason jar, following the theme took us back to a simpler time. The

Community Center at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

in Akron catered the meal and bakery goods and dessert were

provided by Pallotta’s Pastries.

Everyone registered at the check-in desk, dropped their tickets into

the basket in hopes of winning a door prize later in the evening,

and the evening began. We happily danced with one another

throughout the evening to the energetic music provided by the excellent Carnival band.

The elegant John Inks was our Master of Ceremonies. Bruce MThinnich and Jim Peticca

led us all in singing “Silver Bells” and “Silent Night” with their strong, melodious voices.

Door prizes were awarded to Shirley Mainello, Ed Rusky, David Jacobs, Jr, and Emmett

Boyd. Ron Stillwagon was the lucky winner of a paid membership for 2017 to ONCJC.

A 50/50 raffle was held and raised $312.30 towards our charity contribution. The same

amount was won by one of our out of town guests.

We learned among our guests was a wonderful group of 13 very accomplished dancers

who traveled all the way from Columbus to join in our celebration. One of the Mid Ohio

Boogie Club’s members had such a good time last year that she marked her calendar for

this year and was already making plans for next year! Wow, there’s a high compliment!

Our Columbus friends came to enjoy the high quality, full scale holiday dinner dance that

ONCJC is known for.

Elaborate as our dance is, think how very inexpensive it really is for our members. Your

volunteer committee worked hard to keep the cost very affordable. Other celebrations,

such as New Year’s Eve parties, have been known to cost between $75 and $150 per

person for a comparable evening.

If you did not make the dance this year, be sure to mark your calendars for December 9,

2017. This holiday dance will be the keystone event that will cap our celebration of our

20th Anniversary year.

“Do You Want To Dance?’

John I.

Do you want to be a better dancer? Do you want to meet new friends? Then this is the place for you. In each upcoming newsletter, I plan to offer a couple of tips and techniques that will hopefully help you achieve these goals.

Thinking about meeting a new friend or dance partner? I offer the following refined, friendly and promising question “Do you want to dance?”

I like the innocence behind the question. It’s innocent because people can dance together without fear of romantic ties. This applies to both men and women. Ladies believe me when I say, a man loves to be asked to dance.

Remember, it’s all about having a good time. Even if you are a seasoned dancer and your partner is fairly new “it’s still about having a good time.” There’s really no other purpose to dancing. Because happiness is healthy.

See you on the Dance Floor;

Dance Lesson Information JANUARY DANCE LESSONS

Lessons Date Line Dances East Coast Swing John and Penny 4 Old Bones Some Enchanted Evening East Coast Swing John and Penny 11 Colorado Cha-Cha Tush Push East Coast Swing Jerry and Linda 18 Swamp Thang Uptown Funky East Coast Swing Jerry and Linda 25 Cruisin’ River Waltz

Food For Thought: A study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City found that dance

reduced risk for dementia more than any other type of physical activity -- even more than doing crossword

puzzles. If you dance with a group or a partner, you're being social; learning new steps improves intellectual

fitness.

DJ Schedule Schedule is subject to change due to additional DJs, sickness and vacations.

January February 4 Lou C. – Dave W. 1 Lou C. – Dave W.

11 Eddy C. – Jerry G. 8 Eddy C. – Jerry G. 18 Dave W. – Lou C. 15 Dave W. – Lou C. 25 Jerry G. – Eddy C. 22 Jerry G. – Eddy C.

A recent local newspaper indicated "For us to preserve the music of the past, we must enable the music of the future."

This is a quote from Gerhardt Zimmerman, musical director for the Canton Symphony Orchestra. The same applies to

dance as today's members are knowledgeable of and enjoy doing other styles of swing dancing. We are still founded

on the principles of East Coast Swing, but are required to offer a variety of swing music to keep our membership coming

back. A big thank-you to our deejays for doing just that!

Board Election Results

Running unopposed were Jeff Pifer for Secretary and

Cheryl Minnich for President. They will retain their

positions for another two year term.

Nancy Wilson was re-elected to a Trustee position. She

has been a dedicated club member and over the years

has served in many capacities on the Board, including

Secretary as well as Trustee.

We welcome Maria Mayo and Ruth McGraw to their

first time on the Board. Maria has been active on

several committees and is our current Newsletter

Editor. Ruth is our newest club member to be elected as a Trustee. She is sure to present a new perspective during our

discussions.

Rounding out the Executive Board is Vice-President, Linda Dietrich-Rios; Treasurer, Dave Wilson, and Trustees Carol

Kyle and Delbert Stewart.

2016 ONCJC RECAP

1. Newsletter resumed thanks to Delbert Stewart and Maria Mayo 2. Standing rules updated 3. Special events policy updated (added ABA delegate designation, reimbursement timeline for

expenses and consistent manner to turning in monies or receipts to treasurer) 4. Event folders created to assist chairs in planning events 5. Trialed electronic record keeping for Secretary’s minutes of meetings 6. Conducted club shirt sale 7. Added music equipment licensing 8. Photo gallery up on website 9. Privacy policy developed 10. Budget formulated to be reviewed yearly 11. Increased dues to $60 for new member and $48 for renewal to help offset expenses 12. Sponsored Marian’s Closet as our charity 13. Offered name tags at a nominal cost 14. Provided for members:

52 weeks of dancing

48 weeks of dance lessons including 3 guest instructors

4 specialty dances

11 Wednesday events 12 birthday cake celebrations

January

Door

Greeters

4 Bruce M and ? 11 Autumn L and Nick D

18 Judie C and Scott D

25 Jim P and Mary P

2017 ONCJC ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

20th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

DATE ACTIVITY CHAIRPERSON

2-15 Valentine’s Day Celebration Kathy M.

3-15 St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Mary Ellen S.

4-12 Home Opener Quirk/cake Jack L.

5-6 CINCO DE MAYO SPRING DANCE At SILVER SPRINGS

5-24 Memorial Day Red, White and Blue

6-21 Charity Dance Mary F., Carol K.

7-5 Ice cream Social Ed C.

8-5 SUMMER BEACH PARTY At SILVER SPRINGS

9-6 Football-Tailgate Party/cake

10-20 PIG ROAST (Indoor/Outdoor Event) AT HERITAGE BARN

10-25 Halloween Party

11-8 Veteran’s Day/cake Cheryl M.

12-9 20th ANNIVERSARY HOLIDAY DANCE Kap C. GREEK COMMUNITY

CENTER

*** 2nd Wednesday of each month is BIRTHDAY CAKE & CLUB SHIRT NIGHT

Happy Birthday to Our Following Members

1 Matthew A

4 Jean R

4 Joe S

8 JoAnne P

9 Karen W

11 Kim S

12 Virginia (Ginny) M

13 Karen M

14 Claudia B

14 Sally K

19 Christine G

27 Tony T

28 Terri L S

In celebration of our 20th Anniversary we are looking

for photographs of past club events. If you have

photos you wish to share and add to the new ONCJC

photo gallery, please email them to

Media@ONCJC.ORG. If you do not have the ability to

email or scan your photos you can bring them to the

dance on a Wednesday night. Webmaster Steve can

scan them for you and return them to you safe and

sound! Thank you in advance for making our 20th year

“Celebration in Photos” a great one.

AFTER 18 YRS, THE PARTY CONTINUES April 6-7-8-9 2017

At the Beautiful Embassy Suites * Coraopolis, PA.

How Can 4 + 12 + 28 + 2 + 1 + 6 + 2 + 3 = ONE ? 4 Days / 12 Free dance workshops / 28 Hours of open dancing / 2 Dance exhibitions and showcases / 1 Dance contest / 6 Hours

Free Drinks / 2 Free Dinner Buffets / 3 Free Breakfast Buffets = ONE great time at Boogie in the Burgh 2017 (only $90)

The Pittsburgh Steel City Boogie Club Invites you to our 19th Annual Dance & Party Extravaganza

“Boogie in the Burgh 2017”

NATIONAL R&B AND DANCE DJS Betty Brown Charleston, SC J.D. Merkel Baden, Pa. Kevin Mahoney Verona, Pa. Buck Crumpton Fountain Inn, SC DJ Bugger Sarver, PA

PRO DANCERS AND INSTRUCTORS Ellen Taylor Carolina Shag Edisto Beach Matt & Lily Auclair Imperial Swing / West Coast St. Louis, MO Nikki Kontoulas Carolina Shag Charlotte, NC Lori Rousar West Coast Swing Cuyahoga Falls, OH Brad & Sarah Wheeler West Coast Swing Washington DC Alan Stokes Carolina Shag Raleigh NC Garrettt Humphries Carolina Shag Cayce SC Chris Drum Swing Acme, PA

YOUR 4 DAY EVENT RESERVATION INCLUDES 28 HOURS OF OPEN DANCING 12 FREE DANCE WORKSHOPS

DANCE EXHIBITIONS & SHOWCASES AMATEUR DANCE CONTEST

FREE DAILY BREAKFAST BUFFETS SUNDAY DANCING UNTIL NOON:

YOUR 4 DAY EVENT RESERVATIONS INCLUDE THURS : WELCOME REGISTRATION-OPEN BAR

FRI EVE.: BUFFET DINNER & OPEN BAR SAT EVE: BUFFET DINNER & OPEN BAR

In order to make room reservations for the Embassy Suites, you must first purchase a reservation to receive a personal code number. You will receive instructions for making your reservation with your

code number. DO NOT call the Embassy Suites until you receive this information. Group rates are: $105.00 single, $115.00 for 2, $120.00 for 3 & $125.00 for 4 people. Cut off date for room block is March 13th, 2017.

RESERVATION REQUEST FORM Make checks payable to: STEEL CITY BOOGIE CLUB or SCBC, and mail to:

Ed Fedorchak c/o BITB, 2232 Broadway Ave. #A, Pittsburgh PA. 15216 For more info, Call: 724-728-7222 - BITB web: www.boogieintheburgh.com - SCBC: www.steelcityboogieclub.org

Reservations are nonrefundable after March 10th 2017, but may be transferred ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No. of Tickets: ______ @ $90.00 = Total $ ______ Out-of-towners and fellow ACSC and ABA Club members can purchase reservations anytime.

SCBC member reservations will be processed after Jan.1st with membership renewal. Tri-state area nonmembers processed after Mar. 1st. Name __________________________________________________ Name ______________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________ Address ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Phone __________________________________________________ Phone _____________________________________________________ Club Member of: _________________________________________ Club Member of: _____________________________________________ E-Mail:_________________________________________________ E-Mail:_____________________________________________________